Rough Beast

by Gary Braver

"And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?"
It is from these famous lines of William Butler Yeats' "The Second Coming" that Gary Goshgarian [Gary Braver] derives his title for this provocative novel.
Rough Beast, set in a small town in Massachusetts, is a thriller in the tradition of Stephen King and Dean Koontz, combined with the scientific underpinnings of Michael Crichton. The elements of horror and suspense and intrigue reinforce one another in a many layered tale that ultimately brings the boundaries of nature into question. Gary Goshgarian [Gary Braver] has crafted a novel that plumbs the depths of genetic engineering, a powerful force that can be used for good or evil. Rough Beast explores the consequences of a military experiment gone wrong and its effects on as normal, unsuspecting American family--especially on its twelve-year-old son, Matty.

Praise for Rough Beast:
"[Treads] territory staked out by John Saul and Dean Koontz. . . sharp characterizations. . . a solid and suspenseful cautionary tale that expertly blends political intrigue and domestic drama" --Publishers Weekly
"Watch out, Stephen King! Gary Goshgarian [Gary Braver] has taken your incredibly successful formula and made it work as skilfully for him as it does for you. Goshgarian is an excellent writer of suspense. . . Rough Beast is explosive, gripping and truly scary!" -The Roanoke Times
"Various mayhem, strange animal behaviors, a shadowy hit-man, and a secret Vietnam-era project are thrown into the cauldron. It's all fun, and Goshgarian can propel the plot and reader forward." -The Washington Post
"The prose here sings and the characters are multi-dimensional. . . This cunning, deft novel keeps the pages turning without sacrificing style for story." --The Tab Community Newspapers
"The season's scariest novel. . . Horror writer Stephen King could not have conceived a more chilling plot. . . The blending of political intrigue, the characterizations and the realistic drama reflect writing both original and masterful." --The Cape Codder
"Rough Beast is full of nail-biting tension. The book is fascinating and sparks curiosity. You'll want to read every word." --The Tulsa World

Genres: Horror, Fiction

353 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 1995

About the author

Gary Braver is the pen name of Gary Goshgarian, the author of six critically acclaimed suspense novels: three under his own name--Atlantis Fire, Rough Beast and The Stone Circle--and three under his pen name--Elixir, Gray Matter, and Flashback. He is also the author of four popular college writing textbooks--Exploring Language, The Contemporary Reader, Dialogues, and What Matters in America.

Gary Goshgarian

Reviews

[Nikki Sojkowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're looking for a horror fiction book with lots of hitman murders, biogenetic disorders, an older man who can't get it up for his wife, a twelve year old with fully developed genitals who attacks people, some little league baseball, and a political conspiracy written mediocrely well... then this is the book for you. I was maybe looking for the first item on the shopping list, but I was certainly not looking for a story about a 12 year old's dropped balls and penis or a suddenly sexually inactive male... There were also some inconsistencies in the writing, such as a dogwood tree which the main family supposedly planted when their kid was born, except they specifically said they moved into the house when their kid was 2 years old. So yeah.

*Edit* Oh yeah I totally forgot to mention the random dog fights that they decide to enter a human into and how that's not relevant to moving the plot forward at all.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: an experiment by the government went horribly wrong with terrifying results for the Hazzards; their son became uncontrollable.